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How can I know if God Exists?

The Dangers of Criticizing Others

Monday, November 13, 2006

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1, Chapter 6

Krishna cannot be attained by following the rules and regulations.

Vaishnava association is the foundation of our spiritual life. We have to learn how to appreciate the Vaishnavas. If you feel it is your business to find fault with devotees when it is not (when you are not playing the role of their spiritual superior, guru, teacher, parents, etc.) then you are in a dangerous position. The ability to find fault should be applied to ourselves, without pride, to make advancement by giving up our bad qualities.

The jiva (individual soul) is always small and dependent, and thus we must always follow the devotees, even in the spiritual world. If we analyze how we joined the Hare Krishna movement we will see it was due to association with some devotee. We advance by appreciating the good qualities of the devotees. We avoid falling down by avoiding association of people with bad qualities.

If we criticize someone, according to Mahabharata, we take on their bad qualities. If someone criticizes us and we do not get angry, that person takes your bad qualities.

Lord Caitanya said he would distribute the accumulated sinful reactions of the most evil Jagai and Madhai to those people who criticize the Lord's devotees.

In India many people know the Vedic culture but not so much the philosophy. In the Hare Krishna movement, we tend to assimilate the philosophy, but we have not really embraced the culture.

In preparing Mahabharata Vyasadeva watered down the philosophy so much to make it accessible to the people in general that it had lost the potency to be effective. [When Maharaja said that it made me wonder if we sometimes do that in our own preaching strategies. At least we should be careful not to.]

If one has strong faith in eternal damnation, it means he has little faith in the power of devotional service to God.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita:
• Do your duty
• In knowledge
• Without attachment
• Thinking of Krishna
• For the pleasure of Krishna

We tend to have problems understanding the first three.

Notes on Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4, Chapter 4 (entitled "Sati Quits Her Body") discussion: In a discussion about using anger in God's service, Sarvabhauma Prabhu reminded us of this pastime:
Someone asked Srila Prabhupada, "Is God love?"
Prabhupada replied, "Yes, but God is also hate."
God hates to see innocent devotees tortured by the demoniac.

"One should be extremely careful about associating with persons who are not respectful to the higher authorities" (SB 4.4.26). This applies to persons within and outside the Hare Krishna movement.

We can learn from the chapter on Sati's quitting her body.
• We should not hear blamphemy of great souls.
• We should try to rectify blamphemers.
• Having all material facility without pure devotional service doesn't satisfy our soul.

The Dangers of Criticizing Others

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brahmacarya <16rounds@gmail.com>

Brahmacarya.info

---

Hopes & Horrors of Household Life Posted: 13 Jan 2010 12:23 PM PST This is a seminar by His Holiness Jayadvaita Swami on the topic of Hopes & Horrors of Household Life. =========================================== Part 1: Download audio file (JAS_Sem_Hopes-Horrors-Household-Life_part1_2001_Radhadhes_be.mp3) [download] =========================================== Part 2: Download audio file (JAS_Sem_Hopes-Horrors-Household-Life_part2_2001_Radhadhes_be.mp3) [download] =========================================== Part 3: Download audio file (JAS_Sem_Hopes-Horrors-Household-Life_part3_2001_Radhadhes_be.mp3) [download] =========================================== Part 4: Download audio file (JAS_Sem_Hopes-Horrors-Household-Life_part4_2001_Radhadhes_be.mp3) [download] =========================================== Part 5: Download audio file (JAS_Sem_Hopes-Horrors-Household-Life_part5_2001_Radhadhes_be.mp3) [download] =========================================== Part 6: Download audio file (JAS_Sem_Hopes-Horrors-Household-Life_part6_2001_Radhadhes_be.mp3) [download] =========================================== Part 7: Download audio file (JAS_Sem_Hopes-Horrors-Household_Life_part7_2001_Radhadhes_be.mp3) [download]

Gratest Suffering Posted: 13 Jan 2010 11:25 AM PST TRANSLATION Of all kinds of suffering and bondage arising from various attachments, none is greater than the suffering and bondage arising from attachment to women and intimate contact with those attached to women. PURPORT One should make a great endeavor to give up intimate contact with women and those fond of women. A learned gentleman will automatically be on guard if placed in intimate contact with lusty women. In the company of lusty men,, however, the same man may engage in all kinds of social dealings and thus be contaminated by their polluted mentality. Association with lusty men is often more dangerous than association with women and should be avoided by all means. There are innumerable verses in the Bha-gavatam describing the intoxication of material lust. Suffice it to say that a lusty man becomes exactly like a dancing dog and, by the influence of Cupid, loses all gravity, intelligence and direction in life. The Lord warns here that one who surrenders to the illusory form of a woman suffers unbearably in this life and the next. [Ref. - SB 11.14.30]

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Hopes & Horrors of Household Life-HH.Jayadvaita Swami

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ISKCON Desire Tree Devotee Network <mail@iskcondesiretree.net>

ISKCON Desire Tree Devotee Network Connecting Devotees Worldwide - In Service Of Srila Prabhupada A message to all devotees of ISKCON Desire Tree Devotee Network Question: What if we take care of our family members who are devotees? This is also spiritual activity. BVPS: Yes, it could be, but not necessarily. Let's say you are coming home and your kid is chanting Hare Krsna. So when you start telling him about your day, how did it go, what happened, what kind of problems you had, challenges, etc, so your kid just go on chanting? Because he is a devotee and that what the devotees do, they chant. So you are saying that if the kid reciprocates in this way, you will be happy? Because that's way you got married; you just like to be around devotees who chant Hare Krsna. But if it is like this, way taking so much trouble to get married, to raise the child, you just go in the temple and there are plenty of devotees who sit and chant. But is this enough for you? You get the point? You say I take care of them because they are devotees, but if it is so then there are so many devotees around you don't take care. There are so many kids around, but you don't care about them. You feed your own child; you take care of your own child. Not the child of the neighbor although they are also devotee's children. Why? Because you are attached to the body of your kid, because his body is connected with your body. It is based on material attachment. You think in terms of I and mine. If you are on spiritual platform then everybody is a soul and everybody is a devotee. But you don't see in this way and therefore you are attached to your own family members. If it is connected to Krsna, this attachment is not a problem, therefore Krsna made the grihasta asram. But to connect it with Krsna first we have to admit that it is there. We have to admit that this is why I got married on a first place, because I am materially attached. And once this is recognized then it is a question of connecting this attachment to Krsna. In this way it becomes purified and there is no problem. The problem comes when the devotees don't want to admit this attachment; they think I am just practical, down to earth, etc. But in this case they cannot purify it, it just stays with them. It is said that with the same amount of endeavor that is needed to keep a family together one could run an empire. But if it is so, then why taking the trouble of family life, why put so much energy to work for the spiritual elevation of only 2-3 people, with the same amount of energy, if you go out and preach, you could benefit so many people. Not just 2-3 but many, many more. So if the main focus in your life is to help people be Krsna conscious, then the grihasta asram might not be the best situation because it seriously limits your preaching field to just few persons. So one is not supposed to base his life on attachment only. Attachment is there, it is understood, but there are higher principles. Attachment means feeling; I feel like doing or not doing something. I feel like not sending my kids to Gurukula because I feel attached and don't want to be separated from them. But you are going to be separated from your children anyway, there is no question about it. It is going to happen. The only choice you have is – you will be separated from them and this separation will give you a religious result, or you are going to be separated from them and this will give you irreligious result. You will either send them to Gurukula and not see them for 10-15-20 years, but when they come back they will be trained nicely and will stay with you for the rest of your life and will take care of you, or you will not send them, you will keep them at home and they will leave you anyway and will not return. So this is the choice you have. But many devotees base their life on attachment and they don't do this because they don't feel like doing it. This is not an elevated platform. Yes, it is true that Manu mentions that the grihasta asram is the most important asram, but it is because it supports the other asrams. The brahmacaris, vanaprasthas, sanyasis, they are beggars, they don't have money and they should be supported. But if the grihastas are opposed to the sanyasis and the brahmacaries, don't support them, then they become the worst asram, in fact they cannot be considered an asram anymore, they become grihamedi. Grihamedhi means the house is in the center of ones life. Griha means house, medhi – center. Grihast means Krsna is in the center. So it is a question of consciousness. Visit ISKCON Desire Tree Devotee Network at: http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/?xg_source=msg_mes_network   To control which emails you receive on ISKCON Desire Tree Devotee Network, click here

Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami speak on family attachment,08 01 2010 Mayapur Gurukula

Couping up with Mental Offences!

Posted by Vrajarani Devi Dasi on December 12, 2009 at 11:09am


I would like to share some of the very important points to be
remembered & practiced daily in our day to day life to coup up with
the Mental Offences. These points are abstracted from a SB class by HG
Gaur Gopal Prabhu. Please note that, these are not word to word
transcription of the lecture.



Prabhuji started with how important it is to please vaisnavas. We can
not see Krishna directly whether He is pleased or not with our
endeavor, but we can see devotees being pleased or not. e.g. If we
want to water the root of the tree we don't pull out the root & put
water on it, but we put water thru the soil. So, devotees are like the
soil thru which Krishna receives services……



Among all other offenses Vaisnava Aparadh is the most dangerous. In
the Purport Srila Prabhupada writes that that we can tolerate the
scorching heat of the sun on our head but it is difficult to tolerate
the same on our feet. Since devotees are always at the Lotus Feet of
the Lord, so, any offence to the devotees will not be tolerated by
Krishna.



Among the vaisnava aparadh, mental offence to a vaisnava is the most
dangerous as these are unidentified; no one is there to tell us or
warn us that we are committing offenses. Other seen offences can be
told & corrected by our devotee friends, but this is not…. So we
should be very carefull.



Types of Mental Offence:



1) Judging someone's character or motivation based on his
particular type of behavior or mistake: e.g. some time we may see that
after a long time some particular devotee calls us over telephone and
asking our wellbeing. That time we may think in our mind that there
might be some motives in his calling after such a long time, that he
wants some particular favour from me like that. Another example, some
time we see some particular devotee is doing something or behaving in
some unnatural manner, then we may think that his character is like
that only…..These are great offences.





2) Revange Fantacies: it mostly comes into our mind during japa
time. Some time it happens that we think about some particular devotee
& we think of taking some revenge. In our mind we may think that 'when
he tells this way, I will reply this way' or even we may think of some
physical revenge….. This is also a type of mental offence.





3) Imagined or Perceived Wrong: e.g. some time we say 'Haribol' to
some devotee & he doesn't reciprocate, then we may think that this
devotee doesn't like me or he neglects me like that…. All we have done
is that we just imagined wrong. May be he is thinking of something
very important & not noticed you……



Effect of Mental Offence:



a) It sucks our taste in Krishna Consciousness & Holy Name

b) It leads to verbal or physical offence

c) It leads to find fault even in Guru & Krishna

d) Eventually all our anarthas & conditionings come up, especially
LUST. e.g. Saburi Muni's cause of fall down is offence to Garuda.



Steps to Coup up with Mental Offences:



1) To remind ourselves that ' He is Right' i.e. giving him
benefit of doubt: Although we see some devotee behaving in some
peculiar manner, we should think that what he is doing is right, may
be I don't understand him. In this way giving him the benefit of doubt
we will keep ourselves from committing mental offence to him. Clear
communication is very important in this case to get the actual
situation. So, we should always get the things clarified & not think
something as our own mind tells…..





2) He Know Not: We should think that may be he doesn't know the
particular fact & so behaving like this. So, without thinking wrong
about him, we may communicate the message to him thru some one he
trusts upon. Thereby we can avoid committing mental offence.





3) I Know Not: We know that we don't know each & everything. We are
not Paramatma. So, there is possibility that what I think or perceive
is not always correct. This is another way to avoid mental offence.





4) Hate the sin & not the sinner: Srila Prabhupada always used to
quote this. He who is without fault may see fault in other to correct
him, but we should not find fault in others as we ourselves are
covered with so many faults. (Recently HG Vaiyasaki Prabhu told me
that fault finding is the deptt of Yamaraja & so let him do his duty.
He is perfect in his duty. According to Bhagvat Gita, we should not do
someone else's duty even if we do it perfectly…….). So, we should hate
the sin & avoid doing that. We should not find fault in the sinner;
rather we may try to correct him. Further, correction should be
Positive Correction and Not Forced Correction.





5) Look for Right / Good: We can always bring the best from a
person if we treat nicely. If we keep on seeing the problems, we would
be consumed by the problems. So, we should always try to see good in
others. If we are gunagrahi we can avoid committing vaisnava
aparadh…..





6) Praying for Right: We should pray to the Lord, " My dear
Krishna, if I am right & he is wrong, please change him; and if he is
right & I am wrong then please change me as I don't want to commit
offence" If we pray like that Krishna will surely reciprocate & save
us from committing offences…..





7) Write the Right: We should write the good qualities of the
devotee in a paper. If we so desire, we can even hand it over to him,
it will establish a good relation / understanding among us. Even if we
don't dare to give it to him, still it will be very helpful in our
part to coup up with mental offences.



So, these are the points Prabhuji has mentioned from practical
experiences, which you won't find any book. Prabhuji has described all
these points so elaborately with sighting so many practical examples.
I could only mention, what ever my short memory could remember.



Prabhuji also stressed that it won't work if we just memorise these
points. We should apply it in our daily life, & then we can see the
result.



So, Dear Devotees, Please pray for me that I can also follow these
steps & prevent myself from committing offences towards you & other
vaisnavas.



Thank you very much!
Vrajarani Devi Dasi

source:http://www.radhanathswami.us/forum/topics/couping-up-with-mental

Couping up with Mental Offences!